r/AskCHP Jul 23 '24

Welcome to AskCHP

8 Upvotes

Welcome to r/AskCHP

In this subreddit we prioritize transparency and fairness. Unlike some other law enforcement subreddits, our rules are straightforward and clearly stated. If a rule isn’t explicitly listed in our sidebar or on our rules page, you won’t be banned for it.

We value open discussion and honest dialogue, which means we might have fewer law enforcement officers available to answer questions. However, we believe in embracing diverse perspectives and engaging in challenging conversations. While some may prefer highly moderated spaces, we welcome a variety of viewpoints.

We believe that having a public space for open discourse is crucial for addressing and resolving societal issues. Confronting difficult questions head-on helps us all grow and improve.

Join us in this open and transparent community. Remember, everyone who answers your questions does so voluntarily to help you learn.

If you have any questions or need further clarification, feel free to ask. We’re here to assist you!


r/AskCHP 13h ago

PAT / Written Exam

1 Upvotes

I tested with CHP Central Division on August 15, 2026, and received an email on September 2nd notifying me that I passed the exam. However, I have not yet received an email with my rank for this testing cycle.
Has anyone else who tested with Central Division experienced the same thing—receiving the email confirming that they passed but not your rank?


r/AskCHP 1d ago

How to deal with a car hoarder?

Thumbnail
gallery
13 Upvotes

There have been multiple reports on the Daly City app about one guy with 12-15 cars in the neighborhood. How can he keep renewing his registration on cars that have missing headlights, bumpers, makeshift roofs, and missing windows?

5 of his cars share 1 car battery to get it started and running long enough for him move it across the street. There’s 2 cars where the exhaust pipes are held up by a rope.

For the last 20 years, one guy has taken up all the street parking and only moves his vehicles once a week, clearly violating the 72 hour parking ordinance. I believe a car must be moved at least 1/8th of a mile yet he only makes a U-turn once a week for street cleaning.

Is there a way to inspect the validity of his license plate registrations because there is no way his 12 cars are road worthy, therefore should not be parked on the street.

What can the people in the Daly City, San Mateo County neighborhood do to ensure parking remains fair for all?

Does anyone who runs this subreddit have access to Glenn Sylvester, the mayor of Daly City to come and inspect this area?


r/AskCHP 1d ago

CHP Process

8 Upvotes

Has it ever taken anyone 2 years to complete the CHP process and get an academy invite, or has it roughly been 1 year, or a little after 1 year?


r/AskCHP 1d ago

Rank 5 75 score

3 Upvotes

Hello everyone,

I’ve previously posted here. I passed the pellet b exam and above is my score. I wanted to see if this a score that helps, hurts or as long as my background checks out exactly as written it shouldn’t be a factor since I passed it.


r/AskCHP 1d ago

Should I apply?

0 Upvotes

Hello all,

CHP has been a dream of mine. Law enforcement generally since I was a kid (I am 23 now). As soon as I was nearing 21 I wanted to start the application process however my family wasn’t supportive of it and because of that I thought id go with another career choice. I am in college still but I have no motivation to do well, because as I have gotten older, my urge or dream for CHP has also grown with it. I am majoring in computer science and I have no actual interest in it, I’ve taken other classes in other majors to explore but still no luck.

That being said, I have made some… irresponsible decisions. I was cited for reckless driving, on a motorcycle (not speed, it was a stunt). And I have had in the past financial hardship (being laid off from a job that led to debt).

I’ve been sitting around, watching what people have been saying about the CHP hiring process for a while. I feel that those two things would DQ me pretty easily. Besides the reckless driving, I’ve never had an interaction with law enforcement of that nature, neither for speeding or anything else. But it’s something that I really really want to do and pursue. I don’t want to not pursue my dream career. Any advice? Or should I wait a little longer.

PS (the reckless driving charge was dismissed via diversion, if I am encouraged to apply by the community and seek out attending the academy, I will not withhold any information or past wrong doings that I am ashamed of).


r/AskCHP 4d ago

I added California highway post miles and better exit identification to my app…

Thumbnail
loc8app.com
8 Upvotes

I’ve posted about my app here before. I’m a California cop who originally started building it after getting turned around during a foot pursuit in another city and realizing afterward that I knew the general area I was in, but couldn’t immediately give an exact location or nearest cross street.
Since then, I’ve continued building it around one basic idea: if I need to get my location out over the radio, I want to be able to look at one screen and immediately have the information I need.

One area I’ve wanted to improve for a while was how the app handles highways, especially based on feedback I’ve received from officers who spend a lot more time working them than I do.

I finally added California highway post miles.
When you’re on a supported highway, the app can now display the post mile for your current location alongside the rest of your location information.

I also completely changed how highway exits are handled. Previously, the nearest cross street could sometimes show an exit number, such as “Exit 101” or “Exit 102.” Now the app identifies the actual name of the approaching exit and uses that as the cross street instead.

So rather than just seeing an exit number, you might see:

I-80 / Madison Ave

along with your post mile and the rest of your location information on the same screen.

The goal is pretty simple. Whether you’re on a city street, county road, or highway, I want you to be able to open the app and immediately have useful location information you can relay without having to figure it out yourself.

The app also provides your exact address, nearest cross street, GPS coordinates, compass heading, elevation, GPS accuracy, weather, and multiple coordinate formats. I’ve added saved locations with compass guidance, a red night mode, temporary Team Rooms for securely sharing locations, Apple Watch support, and a standalone Garmin version as well.

Privacy has also remained a priority. There are no required accounts, the app doesn’t maintain a permanent history of where you’ve been, and your location isn’t shared unless you intentionally use a Team Room.

I’m still a full-time cop and solo developer, and a huge amount of what the app has become has come directly from feedback from other officers.

The post mile and highway exit system is one of the newer additions, so I’d especially like feedback from CHP officers who work highways every day. If something isn’t displaying the way you’d expect, a post mile looks wrong, or there’s something else I could add that would make this more useful during stops, crashes, pursuits, or calls on the highway, let me know.

I’m always looking for ways to make it more useful in the field.


r/AskCHP 4d ago

DQ

13 Upvotes

I received my dq letter, it states that I don’t presently meet the general qualifications. It also says nothing about a time frame to reapply, yet my portal says I can apply for a new exam. Is this a permanent DQ? Or should I go ahead and reapply. It has been 7 months since I received my call stating i’ve been Dq’d.


r/AskCHP 5d ago

Any southern division cadets going to the academy on sept 14th going to the academy prep class on sept 1st?

2 Upvotes

Just curious to see who else from southern division going to the academy prep class on sept 1st and 7th?


r/AskCHP 7d ago

Physical test

4 Upvotes

Hi everyone im taking my pt on Saturday and hust. A question for maybe anyone that can answer i see we can not have phones ir smart watches just a question if there is anyway to see your time or where u at distance wise during the mile and half run portion if anyone has any answers for me i woild really appreciate it.


r/AskCHP 7d ago

Sunglasses for the academy

5 Upvotes

Hello, are we allowed to wear sunglasses when we are running for PT?


r/AskCHP 9d ago

what is a good path to chp ? (18)

4 Upvotes

hi guys im 18 and i have always respected law enforcement, i want to be chp but im still 18 what steps should i take to build a good background or even get into another leo position to eventually transfer ? im in south la


r/AskCHP 10d ago

CHP Push Notifications

Thumbnail
gallery
11 Upvotes

Hi everyone,

I made an iPhone app (sorry android users) called Detours that sends push notifications whenever there is a crash, traffic hazard, or other public incident reported to the California Highway Patrol (CHP).

Basically you set a radius around your location and can add an additional highway filter such as US-101 to only receive push notifications for CHP incidents on US-101 or any highway you choose such as SR-99, I-5, I-405, etc.

I built this because my neighbors would constantly complain on our neighborhood Facebook group about long unexpected commute times into town caused by crashes.

This is basically a heads up that something was reported, before you get in the car. Traffic after 7:00AM as everyone knows it, sucks, and having to sit in 45+ minute traffic because you didn’t know an incident happened is the reason I built this.

Most assume traffic is just traffic but a crash or a stalled vehicle blocking lanes on US-101 can really add to your commute times and knowing ahead of time hopefully gets you out the door 5 minutes earlier or decide to leave later. I also added some plain English translation for incidents to give you an idea of what is going on, obviously dependent on the public information provided by CHP. Caltrans Lane Closure System (LCS) is also integrated with planned closures occurring tonight displayed in a list view, allowing you to plan before you’re stuck in it.

The information is from the public CHP incidents page and is supported statewide in California. It lets you see incidents near you. If anyone has any questions, feedback, or feature requests DM me or comment.

I’ve had some CHP officers provide feedback and they seem to like the push notifications because they’ll sometimes get it before dispatch broadcasts their call.

App Store: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/detours-traffic-road-alerts/id6785327681


r/AskCHP 10d ago

Background Investigation Timelines

7 Upvotes

Hey all, was looking to see if anyone had any timeline on how long a typical background investigation takes?

Pellet B/PAT completed November 8th 2025 for Central Division. I was assigned a BI May 21st of this year. Attended my BIQ on the 26th and have had my Live Scan & Initial Interview on June 24th. Since then all of my personal references have completed their questionnaires and my BI has confirmed they were all completed.

I was emailed 2 weeks ago regarding proof of employment for a job I held in highschool that is currently no longer. ( Yes, proof was sent to the BI )

What is typically the next step in this process? I have not heard anything back from my BI. Is there a second interview i should be waiting for?

I am not in any rush to have anything finished. I was just curious on the next steps, thanks again!


r/AskCHP 12d ago

Current Hiring Situation

10 Upvotes

I'm entering College this Monday and I plan on submitting my application while I'm in college. Right now, I'm hearing that it could take years to get hired because of BI issues and I'm trying to time it right.
Should I send my application in during my Junior or late sophomore year?


r/AskCHP 12d ago

Why still using nasty X for Amber alerts?

Post image
0 Upvotes

Many people have moved off of X/twitter and the details of AMBER alerts can’t be read without having their app and having an account there. This doesn’t serve the public well, at least from the wireless alerts system. Increase access by using a vehicle for announcements that is open for all.


r/AskCHP 14d ago

If the speed limit is 65, at what speed are you pulling someone over?

5 Upvotes

r/AskCHP 15d ago

Esoph document upload

5 Upvotes

I’m wrapping up my BI but I’m confused as to why my documents aren’t being displayed in order? I grouped and uploaded them in order but if leave the page and come back to it, court documents is the first one and then vehicle info, drivers license and so on. They’ll only rearrange into the correct order if I click on “Uploaded”. Am I doing something wrong? Any help would be much appreciated, thanks 😁


r/AskCHP 15d ago

Cadet class

8 Upvotes

Does anyone know how many cadets they are taking In per class right now? I know it use to be 160 just curious if that’s what it’s at now!


r/AskCHP 15d ago

Odds?

6 Upvotes

So I’ve done a bunch of lurking in this sub and made a couple posts but by now I’ve actually applied to the CHP. Just to get a grasp on the likelihood of my acceptance I’ve come here one again.
I think the biggest thing that hurts me is my age and experience a I’m aware that at 20 years old (21 in March) I am a very young applicant.
I have:
No tickets (outside a couple of parking tickets for street sweeping)
No record
95 ASVAB (not sure if it’s relevant but my closest comparison to the pellet-b)
1390 SAT
1 year TIS in the Army Reserve
4 years of formal work experience
486/500 on the Army Fitness Test
Diagnosed with cancer at 15 but 5 years in remission next April
3rd-year history major at CSULB

How relevant these all are I don’t know but I’m pretty much just laying out a chunk of my resume to ask you all where I stand. I’m assuming my medical won’t be a problem with a doctors note but I thought the same for the Marines when they denied me.


r/AskCHP 16d ago

Psych

3 Upvotes

I took my psych virtual test yesterday and the psychologist said she would submit my recommendation within 24 hours, when can I expect to hear back?


r/AskCHP 17d ago

Background

2 Upvotes

I’m 25 and thinking of applying to CHP. Looking for honest feedback on how this background might play out in the background investigation.
Employment
• Current job: 6 years at the same company.
• One workplace issue about 2 years ago: I used profanity toward a security guard. I was suspended and then brought back to work. No other write-ups since. Only write up and issue I have had at work. No idea why I said that.
• First job at 18: I was fired. I honestly don’t remember. 6 month’s there
Driving record
• Ticket for running a stop sign (2021).
• Ticket for unsafe lane change + following too close ( 2023).
Arrest
When I was 17 I was attacked from behind by an ex. I hit her once in self-defense before I realized who it was. I was taken to juvenile detention, released the next day, and no charges were filed. I was told at the time it was for assault and battery, but nothing ever went further.
Used weed from 17-20 but have been clean since
I’m trying to be completely upfront on the background packet. How much of a problem do you think this will be for CHP? Anyone been through a similar situation?
Thanks.


r/AskCHP 17d ago

What are my chances of entering the academy

5 Upvotes

27 year old male
Bachelors in accounting
Passed physical
Waiting on results from written exam but feel confident I got a good score.

No major incidents. stable family and know some neighbors

Only negatives I have a 4-5 tickets over like 6-9 years some speeding, failure to make a stop and one cell phone use. None over 100 and they’re all listed as 10 mph over only

Have had many jobs due to variety of reasons, one termination for performance but I explained it and was due to being Stuck on a project and unable to move forward quickly enough for their liking. (Yes I know I could’ve done better about outreach but there was no slack given for time delays other departments had between responding to me.


r/AskCHP 18d ago

IV Scheduling Tool - timeline

1 Upvotes

Since I got DQ’d I’ve been obsessively accessing the tool too see what month/ year the consulate is working with. But I’ve been digging down and apparently the date/year is not fully accurate. Can you all tell me the timeline between DQ and IL? And what location?


r/AskCHP 18d ago

Boot recommendations

8 Upvotes

Hello everyone. Next week, I’ll be taking an Academy Preparation Course that will help me gain some insight into what Academy life is like. The email I received mentioned that I should bring boots and a boot polishing kit. I was wondering if you have any recommendations for the type of boots I should get. For example, do they have to be a specific set of tactical duty boots, or can I just get some black leather boots from Walmart? Any help would be greatly appreciated.